Potential first, excuses last, that’s important

Have you heard of this quote before? “Buying a home today is a complex process, but that in no way excuses home buyers from their obligation for due diligence – Henry Paulson” Read more quotes here: www.brainyquote.com Do google to know who is Henry Paulson. Quite a famous person from the finance industry. Due diligence means actions, concrete ones. It means understanding what we buy before we buy. The quote also tells us that we BETTER buy, somehow. Speaking about buying, Selangor Dredging has just bought a Singapore property for RM223 million. Full report in TheStar here. It’s a parcel of land measuring 17,442 sq ft. There’s a 7-storey building on it now which without any doubt will be demolished for something much taller I guess. One acre is around 44,000 sq ft. So, this is around 0.4 acre. SDB bought another piece of land earlier in December 2016. It was a 31,705 sq ft parcel of freehold land in District 12 for RM146.9 million)

The question some of my friends should ask would be this. Not a question to SDB but a general question which has always been a topic; ringgit. In fact, Ringgit is now at SGD1 to RM3.10 Why are developers still buying in Singapore since this will be 3.1 times more expensive! I think the answer should be what would be the potential for these acquisitions. Anyway, according to the article, this is what SDB’s managing director Teh Lip Kim shared. SDB had successfully completed five projects in Singapore so far. She said, “These two additional parcels would result in SDB having a total of seven property development projects in Singapore very soon. Our team will commence with the development conceptualisation and planning in the immediate future, and we aim to launch both the projects within the first half of 2018.”

Decisions that we make should always be on thepotential return in the future and not INSTANT returns.One pertinent question is this. 3-5 years later, what should happen to the property market if the world wakes up from its current half asleep state? Of course as at today, the situation in the Middle East with Qatar in the centre of attention meant that stability is at stake. There are also many other unfortunate incidents in the UK and other European nations which meant that as far as short-term is concerned, it is not looking bright. Let’s not forget that world leader who loves to tweet. I just finished a Whatsapp with a close friend 10 minutes ago. She said, ‘I am saving for my next property.’ She owns two high-rise units near KLCC today. She is positive with her future property investment in Malaysia. SDB is also positive about their future developments in Singapore. I remain extremely positive with Malaysia’s growth. Hopefully, all three of us are right.

2 thoughts on “Potential first, excuses last, that’s important”

Historically, SGD has been appreciating against most, if not all currencies most of the time. If one dates back to the seventies, 1 SGD is 1 Ringgit, 3.5SGD to 1 AUD and NZD, about 7 SGD to 1 Brit pound. Over the decades, SGD appreciates against them all. Today; 1 SGD to RM 3.08, 1.03SGD to 1 AUD, 0.98 SGD to 1 NZD, 1.78 SGD to 1 Brit pound, even the USD we have appreciated much.

A common refrain of many Singaporean property investors who bought into Malaysian properties, some 10-20 years ago, when 1 SGD is about 2.25RM, even when their investments appreciate in value, the loss from the currency devaluation would negate all the gains.

So SDB is smart, knowing that long term it hedges its wealth by developing in Spore. We need to take the macro view as well as the micro.